The Perfect Serving of Romance
by TheRussianGaaraKid
Summary: Ryoma has been strangely distracted recently and when Tezuka and the others begin to notice they take it upon themselves to help their fellow teammate. This is what happens when Oishi and Kikumaru play matchmaker... loads of fun and craziness. Ryoma/Sakuno because I like this pairing... XD. Dedicated to Ame, Hetalia27
1. Chapter 1

Anime: Prince of Tennis

Character: Echizen Ryoma and Ryuzaki Sakuno

Genre: Humor & Romance

~ I do NOT own Prince of Tennis or the characters... sadly.

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**_Dedicated to Ame, Hetalia27_**

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**A Perfect Serving of Romance**

Chapter 1

'Look, there he goes again staring off into the distance' Tezuka growled as he picked up a crisp yellow tennis ball that had rolled over to a halt by his feet. From his position by the opening of the tennis court the captain watched bemused as his players all seemed to be slack off today, a ballsy thing to do especially when he was watching. What really surprised him was the youngest member of the Seigaku regular, normally the younger player was attentive at his work, but today his work was less than satisfying.

The bronze haired captain was obviously not amused by the performance that his "pillar" was currently exhibiting. The balls he was supposed to be picking up were scattered everywhere making the other freshmen work twice as hard to pick up his slack. As his motto echoed in his head the ever wise captain made his way over to the prodigy making his demeanor as intimidating as possible.

'Don't let your guard down Echizen, don't let your guard down'

As another ball whizzed by Ryoma the freshman couldn't help but flinch as the air beside his head became frigid from the chilling wind created by the passing tennis balls being hit at him. 'Damn it that last one was much closer than the last three. I have to keep my mind clear'

"Echizen, keep your guard up" Tezuka chastised as he hurled another dangerously accurate ball towards the unsuspecting teenager's unprotected face. Reflexively the ball was immediately caught bare hand with moderate strain on the younger players wrist making the captain nod in acknowledgement. As usual, it wasn't a surprise to see that Ryoma caught the ball with his bare hands without wincing or displaying any hint of strain, but for someone that young it was still amazing.

"Yes, captain" Ryoma answered under his breath as he looked away trying to hide the blush that was beginning to form across his cheeks. Quickly the underclassman got back to picking up the balls strewn across the court with the other freshmen. He was silently berating himself for being careless enough to actually get caught in his daydreaming for what seemed like the umpteenth time this week. Shaking his head he quickly grabbed a nearby ball avoiding the confused gazes of his fellow teammates.

"Yo, Chibi. What's up?" Momo, the ever present tennis jock (with the meanest dunk) happily chirped as he finally finished the laps the elder players were given in order to strengthen their endurance during their games. "You look a bit off".

'Off is a bit of an understatement the kid looks like he hasn't slept in days and he smells like be bathed in cologne' Momo noted as he stared down at the shorter regular who was still picking up balls. 'Che, he's not even going to acknowledge that his sempai is talking to him'

Ryoma bristled as a large calloused hand fell upon his relatively neat hair and began to rustle it to a fro. Momo knew very well that the freshman hated it, but it gave him too much pleasure to keep torturing him. Growling a bit Ryoma quickly pushed the hand away and went off to catch a ball that had landed by him. "Momo-chan sempai, I thought I told you not to mess with my hair" Ryoma muttered as he toss the ball into the overflowing basket.

"Hey I'm just playing with you, no need to get all mopey. So Echizen you still haven't answered my question." Momo grinned as the freshman turned to him and raised an eyebrow. The anticipation was killing him as the freshman continued to just stare at him as though he were just asked the stupidest question he'd ever heard.

'Momo- chan sempai is the one acting weird. Whatever, it's not like he can help' Ryoma thought as he sighed quietly as went to face the ridiculously tall sempai beside him.

"Nothing" was the prodigy's lone answer before motioned for the sempai to move away, he didn't need to have a body guard. He huffed a bit as another ball was thrown mere centimeters from his face from yet another one elder tennis player who hated him.

"Hey you know you can talk to your sempai right?" Momo grinned as he helped by catching a ball coming right at the kohai. He smirked at the cool image he created at the moment, he was totally the best sempai ever! As he stared down at the freshman he realized Ryoma wasn't even paying any attention. Following the green eyed freshman's gaze he came to the view of the girl's tennis court.

Absently Ryoma nodded turning away from the elder teammate and onto a different, safer part of the court. "Thanks sempai" came the distant voice as yet another tennis ball nearly hit the tennis player.

'So he's got a crush now does he' Momo thought to himself as he watched Ryoma walk purposely slow back to the changing room. A small smirk erupted as he stopped by the fenced court by none other than the coach's granddaughter, Sakuno, and began to chat a bit before going into the changing room.

"Hey Momo, what's up?" called the ever energetic Eiji as he jumped onto the taller player's shoulder with cat-like movements. Carefully Momo held onto the redhead's legs taking a few steps before stabilizing. Letting out a sigh Momo grumbled something about the elder classmen being too upbeat before lowering Eiji onto the ground.

"What was that?" Eiji asked with his head tilted into an adorable fashion making Momo frown. He knew damn well he could have seriously hurt the player just then with that little stunt and had the nerve to pretend not to.

"Nothing, Kikumaru sempai, where's Oishi sempai?" Looking around Momo wondered why he hadn't seen the second half of the golden pair yet, they were usually inseparable. With a sender finger Eiji simply pointed at the slumped body of the co- captain on the floor with a spilt cup of Inui's latest "energy juice". Next to him was a calculating looking Inui who was murmuring to himself about making adjustments and adding new ingredients to his medley... frankly nothing could make the abomination any more palatable, but hey miracles can sometimes, maybe, well not really happen.

"Ah, he lost a bet didn't he?" Chuckling Momo decided he'd help the elder player off the floor before any stray balls were to hit him. It was the least he could do after the tutoring lesson he got a week ago.

"Yup! Inui wanted to try out his new death juice so we had a little game to see who would last longer, it was Fuji and me against Oishi and Kawamura. Hehe, you should have seen Kawamura's face when he took a sip... priceless, until Kaido took him to the nurse. I was supposed to take Oishi, but he's too heavy" Eiji explained as Momo took hold of the unconscious doubles player and they both started onto the nurse's office.

"So the viper took Kawamura sempai, who would have known he cared. Don't you think that was a bit unfair with the pairings?" Momo stared over at the smirking Fuji who had been watching and listening to them the whole time. He simply waved when the two walked over to him.

"It wasn't unfair, we flipped a coin" Fuji announced as he pushed a stray strand of beige hair away from his face, his eyes were shut as a soft smile graced his lips. "Everyone agreed that losers would take a shot of Inui's new juice"

"Sure, okay" Momo answered as his smile twitched at the answer, sometimes Fuji could be seriously scary.

" I saw you talking to little Ryoma- san earlier, did he tell you why he was being spacey?" Fuji asked as he unzipped his team coat and followed the others to the nurse's office. "He was staring at Coach Ryuzaki's granddaughter the whole time, do you think he likes her?" A spark shined in the now exposed blue eyes as he continued to piece together everything he's been able to witness. He was pretty sure he did fancy Sakuno since it wasn't the first time he'd seen him staring at her, he'd even seen them out together on the weekends.

"Oh~ Ryoma likes a girl, is she pretty?" Kikumaru asked as he leaned onto Fuji, there was no way he was missing out on juicy gossip.

"She's nothing like the coach" Momo helped, but stopped immediately when he came face to face with the coach herself.

"Who is nothing like me Momoshiro?" Coach Ryuzaki asked with a raised eyebrow as she stared down the young athlete. 'The nerve of kids these days'

"Eh? Ah Ryuzaki sensei, no one, I meant no one" Momo nervously let out a laugh as he adjusted his hold on the unconscious Oishi. Now he really wished he had Fuji's strange supernatural senses so he wouldn't end up in stupid situations like this.

"Sure, just get Oishi on up to the nurse's office and then change, we're wrapping up early today" The elder woman in the pink track suit warned as she continued on her way to the courts.

After the confrontation the three quickly walked over to the nurses office with Oishi being dragged along peacefully unaware of the impending doom. Eiji carefully knock on the sliding door before sliding it open for everyone to walk on in. He was a bit freaked out by the nurse's office due to his phobia of shots and other unpleasant procedures. Fuji however walked right in and smiled at the nurse before asking where to place the fallen member.

"Why is it always one of your players that make it into my office" the nurse sighed as she went to the back to get her improvised kit for when Inui had one of his "experiments" done on students. It wasn't exactly the normal equipment you'd find in any medical professional's office, but then again most offices never had the misfortune of having to deal with the special juices.

Sighing the brunette nurse pointed to the empty cot next to the dazed Kawamura who was heaving while reaching out blindly. It was a bit scary to watch as the fire was no longer in the crazy fighter, but amusing at the same seeing as Kaido was trying to watch his flying limbs and returning them to the resting position. Sweat was shining on his forehead as he fought with the sushi master to keep his fist down while avoiding getting hit himself.

"Hey viper, having some trouble there" Momo commented as he slide the shaved elder classman onto the cot making sure he was in the middle to avoid him from sliding off.

"Shut it bird brain" Kaido retorted as he quickly dodged a fist letting out a frustrated "fshhhh" sound. Fuji chuckled as he sat at the other side of the slumbering Kawamura and whispered something in his ears making him immediately still.

"What did you do Fuji? Eiji asked as he peaked over Kaido to get a better look at the other two regulars. He noticed the peaceful look on Kawamura's face and smirked as he thought of the possible implications that action could have been.

"Nothing much" smiled the genius as he stood back up and patted Kaido on the back. "Nice job" He commented as he turned to the door which opened before he could put his hand down. Curiously surprised the blue eyed tennis player simply stepped back to let the other person in.

"Nurse I need your help!" came the nervous call once a certain freshman that had been the center of their previous conversation was led in with a fussing brunette beside him. The brunette girl was a very flustered cheery shade as she struggled to keep her hold on the reluctant Ryoma who was not having it.

"I said I was fine Ryuzaki-san, it was just a scratch" Ryoma reasoned as he tried to get the young woman off his arm while hiding the blush on his cheeks. He was embarrassed enough by the fact he had been injured, but it was made much worse with the crowd of regulars that were in the room.

" Just sit over there" The nurse announced in an annoyed tone as she chopped up some more garlic to add to the medley she was making. She was grumbling something under her breath before looking exasperatedly at Momo and asking him to get something from an unmarked can on the top of her medical cabinet. Fuji seeing her working on the remedy decided against leaving especially when his new source of gossip was here.

"Nee Ryoma, what's wrong? I thought you left already after talking to Momo" Eiji asked as he looked at the blushing underclassmen. He wanted to just grab their cheeks and gush, but he knew he'd get scolded. Instead he just settled on the good old method of getting answers to quench his curiosity on the theory Fuji had earlier. It would be too cute if they were together.

"W-well, Eiji- sempai, Ryoma- san was about to leave when he saw me practicing after club was over. I was trying to work on my swings after grandma left to get b-better, but I couldn't get the grip right. Ryoma came over to help by telling me to loosen my grip... I guess I loosened it too much and accidentally hit him" Sakuno explained as she lowered her head in shame, it had been all her fault that Ryoma was hurt.

'Now he'll really must hate me' Sakuno thought as she snuck a look at the boy she had the hugest crush on, Ryoma was not looking happy to say the least. The green eyed tennis player was currently glaring at the chuckling Eiji who didn't even bother to try and hide his amusement.

"You should be more careful next time Ryuzaki-chan" Fuji lightly commented as he stepped next to the freshman to inspect the wound. "where exactly did you get hurt?" His eyes quickly scanned the shorter before he spotted a bit of blood on his leg.

"His left leg" Sakuno replied still looking at the ground blushing furiously.

"Alright leg up and roll your pants up" Fuji ordered as he picked up a bottle of antiseptic and a cotton ball. Ryoma opened his mouth to protect, but stopped when he met with blazing blue eyes and chose to wisely shut up. "Good, we can get this over with quickly if you just listen Ryoma- san" he spoke with false cheer as he bent down to treat the bleeding. It wasn't too bad, however the gash was a bit deep and the bleeding hadn't stopped yet. Sighing the beige haired sempai as he soaked the cotton with the clear liquid, "This is going to sting a bit" he warned before gently patting it onto the cut.

Ryoma instantly yelped as he felt the stinging go up his leg and immediately flinched almost kicking poor Fuji, however the elder had a tight hold on the leg. Green eyes glared down at the genius who was simply humming amusedly to himself as he continued to go on with his cleaning.

"I'm so sorry Ryoma-san, I- I promise I'll never bother you again. I'm sorry" Sakuno continued to apologize as the wincing lessened, she was feeling worse as his pain increased. All she got was a glare and a sharp "Stop apologizing" from the frustrated freshman as he tried not to slash out on Fuji, who was only trying to help.

"That wasn't very nice Chibi" Momo replied as he looked over from his place next to Oishi who was beginning to wake up from the revolting scent of the concoction the nurse had made. Kawamura had already been the first one to have taken it and was still heaving trying to get the scent out if his nose and mouth. It wasn't her first time doing this so she already had a glass of water out for him, which Kaido was trying to get him to drink out of. So far the 'Burning king' hadn't caught his breath enough to get the liquid down, however it was funny to watch for Eiji who was using every bit of restrain not to burst.

"It's okay, Momo-chan sempai. I deserved that" Sakuno stated sadly as she watched Fuji place a large patch on his leg seeing as the other bandages were too small for the gash. Once he was done Fuji smiled brightly before offering a lollipop to the grumpy freshman. "I think you need something to lift your mood there Ryoma- san" With a frown Ryoma rejected the piece of candy before getting up slowly and smoothly picked up his bag that had been tossed in his struggle.

"Thanks Fuji- sempai" he mumbled before he exited the room with Sakuno behind him. She was more respectful bowing as she thanked the elder classman for his work before going out the screen door. A light hurried "Ryoma please wait" was heard before no more sounds filled the room except for Oishi's groans from smelling the disgusting thing.

"That was eventful" Fuji remarked as he stood up and put the antiseptic back where he found it and put the tweezers he'd used to hold the cotton ball in the sink. He then sunk down on the chair Ryoma was just on and watched as the nurse filled out a sheet for the two and waited until they were dismissed before following them back to the changing room.

"Nee, nee Oishi, we should play matchmaker" Eiji brightened as he held onto his best friend's arm and widened his eyes. He knew there was no way he'd say no when the eyes came out, even if he made the excited redhead to never play matchmaker again. The last time they'd done it, it was successful, Inui got a girlfriend however the next day he slipped one of his elixir juices into their sport drinks for not telling him. Needless to say Oishi had not been willing to do anything to get the mad scientist angry again, even if it meant to let the first years become his guinea pig for his juices from hell.

"Eiji, I thought we promised we wouldn't do that anymore" The shaved tennis player's lip twitched as he tried not to look into cat like eyes. It was his ultimate failure and most of the time got him into trouble... dangerous trouble.

"Please come on, it'll be fun" Eiji pleaded as he continued begging even going so far as to get on his knees. "Please, please, pretty please" he begged letting the tears start up, that usually would get the taller of the golden pair to crack.

"It could be fun" commented Fuji from the back as he nudged Momo who was staring at the spectacle before them.

"Oh- yeah, it should be fun" Momo chimed in, not really knowing what was going on. It was still better to do as Fuji said because his punishments where even more chilling than Tezuka's.

"Really? You guys too!" Overwhelmed by the tag teaming the vice president finally succumbed to the peer pressure and reluctantly agreed. "Fine, but there has to be rules here, first and foremost, whoever we chose can NEVER find out it was us." Upon receiving three nods he continued "Second if things do not work out, we're not going to push them. Third is that we will not force them to do anything they don't want to do, that includes kissing" He pointed stared at the redhead as he said this.

"Fine, fine. Let's get started" Eiji happily sang out as he skipped over to the changing room.

"Wait who're we going to match up anyway?" Momo asked as he started taking off his shirt. He wasn't quite sure why he was even helping, but it was better than being bored. He reached into his locker and took out his uniform placing it on the bench. Upon closing his locker he met the faces of three unamused sempais.

"Momo, we're going to match up Ryoma-san and Ryuzaki-chan" Fuji answered while going back to pulling his pants on, he knew the hokai was slow, but damn he thought that much was obvious. The other two also went back to changing after the shock of their hokai's ditsy- ness vanished.

"Okay, so what should we do first?" Fuji asked as he fastened his belt and slipped his shoes on, he was a quick dresser so he sat on the bench while waiting for the others to finish. In his mind he was imagining a bunch of scenarios for the two however none of them felt original. He also was wondering how they'd be able to get them together without tipping them off.

"Well we know they like each other so I guess we start a love letter" Eiji closed his locker trying not let a smile break his thinking face. He knew it was juvenile, but they were young and still had childish tendencies. "We'll have to take something Ryoma's already written on to use as reference, Momo you will have to get it and I'll sneak into her locker to put it in."

"Okay, but who's going to forge the letters?" Oishi asked as he finished tying his shoes the way he liked. He was mentally assigning different jobs to everyone, even if they hadn't asked to join, he was sure he could get Tezuka to join in!

"I can do it, I've done it a couple times" Fuji offered as he smiled innocently at the incredulous looks he was getting. A shrug was all Oishi gave as he thought about what they would do next, he could get Tezuka to arrange a meeting with all the regulars only to have them all ditch Echizen and spy on the freshmen. In the letter he could arrange for Sakuno to meet Ryoma at some fancy restaurant... or they could use Kawamura's sushi restaurant!

"Okay, then I think I have this all planned out" Oishi smiled as he turned to everyone and told them the plan. With nods they all agreed to the plan and set off to go retrieve what was required while Oishi stayed behind, he had a certain captain to go convince.

After spending a good twenty minutes searching around the school for the illusive captain the co captain finally found the bronzed haired player in the library reading a German history book. Smirking at the studious captain Oishi carefully selected a book before going over to the studying captain clearing his throat. "Hello Tezuka-san" he said politely as he placed to book on the table pulling the seat across from Tezuka.

"Hello Oishi-san" he returned sparing him a glance before he continued to read the book, he felt the gaze of his co- captain on him, but chose not to pay any attention. As his eyes scanned the words on the pages before him he still felt light brown eyes on him begging for him to put the book down. He still continued to read, if he didn't stop by the next paragraph then he'd call him out for staring. Ten words, five words, two words, at the final word the captain's stunning maroon eyes raised to meet coffee ones.

"What is it?" he asked slightly annoyed captain as he set the book down on the table. He made sure to keep his voice down because he was in a library, but upon seeing the meek look on his co-captains face he realized he probably was making a scary face.

"I need your help" Oishi whispered as he slid the book over that he had been pretending to read the whole time. Upon the book settling before him Tezuka opened it slowly only to see a sheet of paper, which he read over quickly and frowned.

"Why should I do something like that, you have no right to butt into their relationship whether it be friendship or more" Tezuka whispered as he slide the book back getting ready to pick up where he left off in his book.

"It might get him to stop slacking off" Oishi reasoned quickly as he met the captains gaze. After a couple of seconds of thinking Tezuka shook his head.

"There's a chance this could backfire and he could become less concentrated" Tezuka challenged thinking about it a bit more. 'If this is anything like their last match up then it could work.' Tezuka thought as he pondered Inui's relationship. Once Inui had a girlfriend he was spending more time working out and collecting information with her, if anything the two einsteins were able to devise a better workout regime and with her around Inui was also able to get more data to research. Perhaps Ryoma getting a girlfriend was a good thing.

"We can take a chance can't we, it worked on Inui didn't it" by now Oishi was reduced to begging, but in a less degrading way than Eiji had done.

"We'll do it however, if this doesn't work out you'll bare the responsibility" Tezuka stood up and motioned for Oishi to follow as he took out the book from the library then left to go plan out the details in the club room.

-~~~~- The Next Day-~~~~-

"All the regulars if you can please gather around, Captain Tezuka would like to have a few words" Oishi called out as soon as Coach Ryuzaki had left the court. For what they were planning it was best she had no clue what had happened.

The other tennis players left the court tiredly casting jealous looks at the lucky regulars who had managed to become the best of the best. As soon as they were alone Tezuka crossed his arms as he looked at everyone before him. He would have to make this seem as legitimate as possible for this to work.

"As you guys have probably noticed our next match is in three days, it may be against Hyoutei Academy, but we must not let our guards down. As pregame celebration we have been invited to eat at Kawamura Sushi, you are all to come and enjoy the meal" Looking over at Kawamura he saw the shy smile he got from the team who were all cheering happily at the mention of free food to keep up appearances.

"Yeah free food" Cheer Momo who grabbed a hold of the frowning Ryoma and gave him a noogie. Fuji merely chuckled as he saw Kaido try to hide a smile and Inui pushing his glasses up as he took notes on their reactions. He was not surprised to see Eiji walk sneak over quietly joining in on the cheering.

Tezuka cleared his throat and waited for silence before continuing we will be meeting at around seven, dress nicely and remember to get a good nights rest afterwards. Dismissed" With that everyone called out "Yes Captain" before returning to the locker room to get dressed and leave for the day.

Ryoma sighed as he wiped away the sweat that had accumulated from doing laps and having a rather fierce match with an unusually fired up Fuji. He didn't mind however since he didn't want to be a part of the clean up duty that freshmen were doing. He did however notice that everyone was acting a bit off during practice, the regulars had been stopping each other at least once the whole practice and had some kind of gossip spread before going back to whatever they were doing. Even Kaido had been a part of it, which surprised him the most since he thought he was a loner.

"Ne Momo-chan sempai, are we still going out for burgers?" asked Ryoma as he picked up his bag, he then realized that while he was in thought the room had become nearly empty. The only people remaining were Tezuka, Momo and Eiji and they all seemed to be staring at each other in a scheming way. Momo merely closed his locker before looking at the awaiting freshman.

"Yeah, just let me go get something that I forgot in the classroom, here" Momo threw his bike keys at the freshman who easily caught them. "go ahead and get my bike, I'll meet you in the front" Momo called as he put on his sneakers, grabbed his bag and left the changing room.

'Typical Momo-chan sempai, mada mada dane' Ryoma thought as he closed his locker as well.

As he was about to leave he heard Eiji walking beside him giggling to himself. Annoyed by the other he turned only to see the sempai listening to something on his headphones. Before he could even ask what he was listening to the other had already walked ahead of him skipping away to the beat.

'That was weird' Ryoma thought as he continued to walk on, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him once more. He turned around only to see that it was Tezuka, curiously he looked up to see that the captain had a stern expression on as he stared down at him. "Yes captain?" Echizen asked in monotone as he watched him carefully.

"Echizen I would like to talk with you" he stated as he looked around to see if anyone was also there.

"Sure, can you walk with me though? I have to get Momo-chan sempai's bike" Upon the nod Ryoma started walking towards the parking silently wondering what the captain wanted to talk about.

"I've told you before that you are to become the Seigaku pillar before have I not?" Tezuka asked as he stared forward, at the silence Ryoma nodded. "Over the past few days I've been noticing that you haven't been paying attention to the game, and I wanted to ask you what is bothering you" Tezuka stopped beside the teenager as he bent down to unlock the bike.

Frowning Ryoma stared at the captain studying his face for any sign of insincerity. Finding none Echizen sighed before he began to push the bike. "Look captain, I sorta like a girl, I know she likes me too, but I don't know what to do. I can't just ask her out because her grandmother is a prude and I'm too nervous around her to say anything... I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's complicated" he finished as he reached the front of the school, his face was as red as a tomato and he wouldn't stop looking at the ground.

"Well Ryoma, I can't really tell you what to do there, but maybe you just need a chance to tell her how you feel. You know she likes you and if you both like each other then her grandmother has nothing to object to. It's healthy to like someone at your age, but keep your guard up" Tezuka warned as he heard the hurried footsteps of Momo as he ran over to meet with Ryoma.

"Thanks captain" Ryoma murmured as Tezuka nodded and left in the direction Momo was coming.

"Bye Captain" Momo called as he jogged over to Ryoma smiling while holding up a notebook. "Found it. Let's go a chow down"

With a smirk Ryoma nodded handing over the bike as they turned the other way and made for their usual burger joint. Coincidentally as they went one way a certain brunette turned the opposite way holding a folded piece of paper to her heart.

'I can't believe Ryoma would actually ask me out'

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**_A/N:_****_ Hello readers, as I've promised here is the first of my two chapter story, frankly this took a lot out of me making it. I'm certain that I will not be writing anymore romance unless it's requested, but then again I suck at this so I'm sure it won't happen. Don't get me wrong I like to read them, but writing is completely different. So tell me what you think and I might update this before I head back to college. I would just like to dedicate this story to Ame or Hetalia27, I know you may hate me right about now, but I still really miss you and I'm sorry for all the crap I've said and done. I'll admit here before complete strangers that I was a jerk to you and that I had no reason to be like that to a great friend. Take this as my apology and I hope we can meet again like we keep talking about. ~TheRussianGaaraKid out _**


	2. Chapter 2

Anime: Prince of Tennis

Character: Echizen Ryoma & Ryuzaki Sakuno

Genre: Humor & Romance

~ I do NOT own Prince of Tennis or the characters

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**Chapter 2:**

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~4:15 pm~ **Burger Joint **

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Momoshiro and Ryoma finally reached the burger joint after taking a couple of detours that were mainly Echizen's doing. They had first stopped at the sporting goods shop to look for grip tape, then at the mart to get some ponta juice and finally at the book shop to get a book. Momo didn't get a good look at the book, but the freshman had been lingering at the relationship isle. The blush on his face was also a good indication that he probably did end up buying a relationship novel of some sorts.

"Hey Momo- chan sempai, I'll find a table you can order" Ryoma called before handing the taller upperclassmen the money to pay for his food. Turning he scanned the busy establishment filled with other hungry students catching a bite before going home or prep classes. It seemed there were other members of tennis clubs here, but none were really important so he ignored them instead focusing on finding a booth.

"Echizen there's one in the back, someone's about to leave" Momo pointed out as the line got shorter as the person finished paying.

Nodding Echizen hurriedly walked over to the booth ignoring the curious looks and chatter around him. He didn't care is anyone recognized him, he was used to the stares after all of the publicity he has been having recently.

"Echizen?" the low hissing voice he thought sounded oddly very familiar came from next to him. Turning slowly he came face to face with none other than Seigaku's viper, Kaido, staring at him with a surprised expression. Beside him sat a young woman girl with a pleasant smile.

"Kaido... semapi?" Echizen stared at the two before him then noticed the girl had on a school uniform, his school's uniform. 'Well that's unexpected' He thought as he sat in the booth and placed his bag next to him.

"Aren't you going to introduce us Kaoru?" the girl asked nudging the blushing tennis player lightly trying to prompt him. She had a pleasant voice to accompany her natural prettiness, her long straight black her hung loose around her and her large light brown eyes shined with curiosity. She was very pretty, and way out of Kaido's league. What the hell just happened?

'So they're close enough to start using first names... cousins?" Ryoma thought as he watched them absently.

"Echizen, this is my... girlfriend, Obi Karen. Karen, this is Echizen Ryoma, he's in the tennis club." Kaido hissed out quietly avoiding both of their eyes.

"Girlfriend" came the surprise outburst from none other than Momo, who had just gotten their orders. A wickedly mischievous smile tore his face as he placed the tray filled with their food and Ryoma's change on the table. "Hello, my name is Takashi Momoshiro, it's nice to finally meet Kaido's girlfriend"

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5:20pm~**Kawamura Sushi~**

* * *

"Nee Nee Kawamura, your dad really was okay with this?" Eiji asked as he bounced happily in place watching as both the concentrated Oishi and calm Kawamura put the finishing touches on one of the tables. On the normally barren table was a clean white tablecloth and a single candle that was still unlit. Truly a difference from the traditional Japanese style decor.

The normally traditional sushi restaurant had been cleaned spotless (thanks to Oishi's critical eyes and Eiji's flexibility to reach every corner) and had a hint of a romantic atmosphere added to it by dimming the lights. No flowers were added to the table, but Eiji had gotten some floral scents from Fuji's sister. It got the air ridden of the unpleasant scent of fish while not turning the place into some sappy setup. Well... it still was since it had the candle, but at least it was not as bad as it could have been.

"Yeah, I told him that it was something really important" The brunette chuckled nervously as he began to sort the food he would be making for the night. He poured a healthy amount of rice onto a bowl and began to sort it to check for stones.

"He really bought that?" Eiji asked skeptically as me fixed the sleeve of his jacket to cover his forearm completely. Oishi looked up from the glass of water he was drinking from and looked at the fierce tennis player. He was definitely lying from the tone of his voice, but he wasn't about to help Eiji push the answer out (the red head was good at doing that on his own).

"Well, no... not really" Kawamura sighed as he moved to wash the rice, there was no point in checking the rice again. Avoiding the critical green cat like eyes on him he went on with his business. "I told him that it was for Ryoma and he said it was okay as long as I cleaned up afterwards. My dad thinks it's a good idea for him to have a girlfriend, he says it'll keep him playing well to impress her" At finishing the brunette was blushing terribly at the embarrassment of what his father said.

"So he thinks it's a good idea too" the red head smiled broadly at the brunette's broad shoulder and turned to Oishi and winked.

"We still don't know how this will turn out, Eiji. We cannot get our hopes too high, Echizen is hard to read sometimes" Oishi had a hand over his shaven head and sighed. Sometimes the freshman could be troublesome in his secretiveness.

"Don't be such a downer. This plan is great, plus you said the same thing for Inui and it was a success"

"Yes, well I believe they were a match made in heaven. I'm not sure about Sakuno-chan"

"Speaking of Sakuno-san, how are we going to deal with the coach when she hears about what we're doing. She's really protective of her granddaughter isn't she?" Kawamura spoke in a quiet tone as he scrubbed the rice with skilled hand movements. As he mentioned the coach though his face went dark as the other two in room went blank.

"He's got a point. She's definitely going to be pissed, how could we not have thought of that, Oishi? Oh, no what if she decides to take it out on Echizen since he'd the one dating her. Chibi's going to get killed" Eiji worried as the scenarios ran though his mind at the speed of light.

"I think he'll be fine, she wouldn't try to hurt a regular. That said that doesn't mean she won't punish him in another way. That might even include us... wait since Tezuka is involved she probably won't be too quick to punish us" Oishi reasoned as he place the glass on a counter. He really hoped that didn't sound as worried as he was.

"Let's hope so" Kawamura sweat dropped as he drained the water from the rice. He really hoped that this wouldn't blow up in their faces.

* * *

~5:30pm~ **Ryuzaki residence**

* * *

'Why is it that I always end up with the unpleasant jobs?' Tezuka thought to himself as he walked over to the coaches door and knocked twice politely. Beside him stood Inui with his ever present notebook and Fuji with his sweet yet creepy smile.

They all decided since they were the calmest of the regulars that they were going to be the ones to deal with the coach. It was going to a deadly mission that would most likely make any of the other members cringe, but thankfully all three were the best at poker faces.

"Coming" came the distant voice of Sakuno as hurried footsteps made their way towards the door. Upon opening the door the slightly red faced Sakuno went pale at the sight of the three regulars at her doorstep. "Sempais?"

"Who is it Sakuno?" came the distinct voice of the coach coming from the kitchen. She sounded a bit more pleasant than usual meaning she was baking right now. When she didn't hear an answer she walked out into the hall and huffed as she saw the three standing there.

"What are you three doing here?" She sounded annoyed as she loosened her plain white apron off and handed it to the flabbergasted Sakuno. "Well?"

"We were hoping to have a word with you Coach Ryuzaki." Inui answered in his low monotone voice. He held up his notebook and camera indicating it was about tennis.

"Okay, fine come in" She opened the door wider to allow the boys in and watched them remove their shoes before telling her granddaughter to go and make them some tea.

"What is this really about?" she asked once she closed the door to the sitting room a few rooms in. She pointed to the large beige couch placed in the side of the room before taking a seat on a recliner. She wasn't fooled for a second that these boys wanted to talk about tennis, if they did they would have done so at the court not in her home.

"Was it that obvious?" Fuji asked as he folded his hands on his lap and opened his eyes to stare at the coach. She had changed from her usual pink tracksuit to some gray sweats and a white tee-shirt. 'So even she has some normal clothes'

"I know my players, now tell me whatever you need to before Sakuno comes in with the tea." She turned to Tezuka and gave him a critical look until he nodded clearing his throat.

"We would like to talk about tennis indirectly. You see your granddaughter has a crush on Echizen-" Ryuzaki was about to say something but Tezuka held up a hand. "I know you know this too, since you've chastised her before about her staring at him. As it turns out Echizen likes her too, but he's too shy to do anything about his emotions. Thus is why he hasn't been playing well recently." Tezuka paused and nodded for Inui to take over in his place.

"We decided to fix this problem by setting them up on a date, and before you protest there is plausible evidence that he likes her. Also he seems to concentrate best when your granddaughter watches him. You see we believe it is best that they are together, there is a 45% chance that his abilities will increase if he has an incentive of working to perfect himself." Inui finished nodding for Fuji to finish it off.

"We've arranged for them to have a date tonight, which you've probably already deduced from the clothes laid out on door knob. Although Echizen doesn't know about the date we know that he will accept the relationship. It worked with Inui and his girlfriend and there is a good chance it'll work with those two." Fuji smiled disarmingly as he leaned forward and silently added "She seemed very happy when she heard about the date, you wouldn't want to upset her. Would you?"

The coach stayed silent for the reasoning given from the three and little by little the tight tension in her shoulder seem to loosen. After Fuji however she felt uneasiness take over, how could she agree to this not even knowing if Echizen really liked Sakuno. What if he broke her heart, she is so sensitive and polite that she wouldn't even speak her mind. She knew that Sakuno like Echizen, she's always talking about him with a spark in her eyes and if it does make him play better... she couldn't decide. Begrudgingly the coach sighed and nodded making the three on the couch sign as well.

"If he breaks her heart I will punish him and you guys too, I know that all of the regulars are helping especially after Inui's dating mission. Don't let her get hurt" She warned just as the door opened and in walked Sakuno blissfully unaware they were talking about her.

"I've brought the tea" She announced placing a tray on the table bowing. She was about to take a seat when Ryuzaki stopped her and told her to go and take a bath instead. She would go and approve her wardrobe once the boys left.

* * *

~6:10pm~ **Echizen residence**

* * *

Echizen stared at his reflection in the mirror skeptically as he pulled at the uncomfortable formal wear his father had made him wear. He had opposed the choice at first, but after losing a game to his father it was only fair that he would wear it.

'It's only a simple dinner at Kawamura's sushi, it's not like I'm going on a date' Ryoma thought as he gave up on trying to make himself feel comfortable. He hadn't even remembered purchasing these clothes, the dark blue dress shirt was form fitting with a designer label and his black pants were sleek and comfortable enough. He guessed it was probably his mother who brought him the clothes, he'd have to tell her not to do so anymore without his okay.

Looking at the clock the freshman sighed not really looking forward to the remarks he'll get for his choice of clothes. Before leaving he pet Karupin once then picked up the matching jacket and left to walk over to the door were Momo was waiting to pick him up.

* * *

**Kawamura sushi **

* * *

Sakuno came in ten minutes before the time on the letter specified and at the door she was greeted by a very calm and collected looking Fuji. She stopped to check on her simple knee length black dress and pink sweater, it wouldn't be good to look indecent after having Ryoma go through the trouble of asking her out. She and her grandmother had opposing views on what was "proper attire" with the coach wanting her to sport a tracking suit. It was finally decided that some skin was appropriate, but seeing as she was still young only a little.

The brunette smiled kindly upon noticing the freshman walk over to him and after exchanging simple pleasantries went inside. It was very bad etiquette to be late for a date, but then again Ryoma still had ten minutes, so Fuji led the red head over to the empty table. Silently he sat the freshman done on the chair facing away from the door and offered a drink before going to the back for some kid friendly beverages. Feeling a bit proud of himself for remembering Ryoma's favorite drink Eiji passed the brunette a can of ponta and watched as he emptied the contents happily into a clean glass.

"What should we tell Ryoma to make sure he doesn't bolt?" asked Kawamura as he washed his hands by the sink for the third time before taking the fresh towel from Oishi and drying off.

"What do you mean tell him? We aren't saying a thing" Eiji grinned as he watched Fuji go back to the blushing red head who was pushing back her long unbraided locks. She quietly stuttered a thank you before taking a look around at the surroundings. From the looks of it she must have been familiar with the general looks of the restaurant or if not was still in awe from the change it has made.

"Kawamura sempai's family restaurant is beautiful" she said to no one in general as her amber eyes scanned the details of the romantic setting. Behind the door both Eiji and Oishi smiled to themselves restraining the urge to hi-five each other and start cheering. Even they knew it was way too early in the game form cheering especially when one of the main characters are still missing.

"Momo-chan sempai, the lights are dim. Are you sure we were supposed to be here at this time?" Ryoma asked from behind the screen door. A speak of the devil, the green eyes freshman observed the traditional Japanese establishment with a critical eye before turning to the upperclassman.

"Yeah, of course this is the right time. You go on ahead of me, I have to chain the bike in the back. It'll just take a couple minutes, save me some food will you" Momo smirked his cocky smirk as he dismounted his bike and pushed it towards the back.

"Yeah right, mada mada dane sempai" Ryoma murmured as he slowly slid open the screen door and stuck his head in looking as nonchalant as possible. Strangely enough the first thing he sees is the stern and very, very amused looking Inui who looked as though he were about to slide the door open to leave.

"Ah, Echizen- san, I was just about to go out to look for you" the amused senior said as he moved aside and let the freshman into the entrance before opening the second door a fraction of the way.

"I'm still early" Ryoma pointed out as he looked around suspiciously. Why were the decorations different from the usual? Where was everyone? Usually the place would be packed with the whole tennis club and supporters cheering and talking loudly, but it was oddly quieter and was that a floral scent. Suddenly his eyes caught sight of a strands of long red hair in the back and he did a double take.

"Sempai where is everyone?" Ryoma asked staring at the red hair closely. It couldn't be Eiji, the length was way too long and the color was a tinge darker. Maybe it was a wig, but something was oddly familiar and was that a dress? Why would Eiji be wearing a dress?

"Echizen tonight is a special night" came a calm voice from his left. Turning his head an inch Ryoma faced Fuji and stared into dark blue eyes that were dead serious. "You'll be having your first date"

"F-first date?" Ryoma blushed as he stared at the smiling seniors waiting for someone to start laughing telling him it was just some elaborate joke. "What are you talking about?"

Suddenly the screen door opened completely thanks to the smiling Fuji as he nearly pushed the shorter freshman into the room.

"Echizen, it's rude to keep your date waiting" chided Tezuka as he sat next to another senior who was busy taking avidly to a smiling Eiji. Sitting only a table away was Oishi who had girl with short black hair and a jade green dress, they were both smiling as the talked calmly. All around

Sakuno sat the members of the Seigaku tennis team with their dates. Even a tall looking girl with amazing legs and blonde hair sat near, Ryoma recognized her from the girls basketball team. Then there was Fuji who was there with a strange looking girl with just as blue eyes, she was from the chess team if he remembered correctly.

"We thought you might be more comfortable if you weren't alone on your date, so we all came with our significant others" Tezuka informed as he turned away from Eiji's date who was asking about one of his tennis moves to answer the question on the tip of the freshman's tongue.

"Right" Ryoma sighed accepting that there was no getting out of this one. He quietly walked over to the table in the middle and hesitated before turning to see who his date was.

"Good e-evening Ryoma-san" the red face Sakuno greeted bowing curtly to the stunned protégé who stared openly at the girl surprised. Even after blinking several times owlishly he couldn't believe Sakuno was before him... wearing a dress. And her hair was loose, eyeing the freed strands he thought she looked much better with her hair down. Especially when it swayed back and forth with every movement, he shook the thought out hoping no one caught his staring.

"Err- good evening" Ryoma bowed using his cool monotone voice. If he was going to do this he might as well look as cool as possible, hopefully then no one would notice the fierce blush. Taking his seat the green eyed freshman looked around surveying the restaurant, this was definitely not what he expected when he was leaving, but now he finally understood the whole getup.

"Hey Echizen" Momo nearly slammed open the door bowing a greeting to everyone before taking his seat next to the blonde girl. She was a couple of inches shorter, but even so it seemed like she would be a worthy opponent in the court.

"I thought we were just going to have a dinner with the team" Ryoma whispered harshly into the upperclassman's ear. He wasn't too angry, but hell the giant could have given him some heads up.

"We are, just with some nice looking women" Momo chuckled before nodding to the serious looking Kawamura. The brunette was behind the counter making the sushi with a woman who looked just as focused and timid. She was pretty with light brown hair tied up into a bun and she wore an apron that matched Kawamura's. It was strange not having the head Kawamura there, but they'd have to trust in Takashi's training.

"Did you know about this?" Ryoma asked silently towards the flustered Sakuno, she was blushing madly before tilting her head in confusion.

"Yes, you left a letter in my locker" Sakuno pulled out the invitation and held it close before placing it on the table. "I was skeptical at first because I didn't know if you liked me. I always thought that you thought I was a pain." at this she made a sad sort of smile which made Ryoma frown.

"You're not a pain" he mumbled taking the letter and reading it. It looked like his handwriting even down to the curves but something was off. The pressure on the pen was too light as though the person wasn't comfortable with writing with their left hand. Other than that kudos to whoever wrote this.

"What was that?" Sakuno asked, she hadn't quite heard him over the chatter going on around them.

"I said, you're not a pain." taking a deep breath Ryoma place the letter back on the table then stared at Sakuno. "I don't know where you got the idea you were a pain, but I think you're... " noticing the noise quiet down Ryoma lowered his voice as well. "I think you're really great to be around"

Sakuno burned an even brighter shade of red as she slowly grabbed the invite and returned it to her pocket. "T-thanks. Even if I am a hazard to you, I'm really sorry about last time, I like being around you too. You have more patience than grandma, she yells at me all the time when I miss the ball. With you i-it's calm and I feel safe"

This time it was Ryoma's time to blush, especially when he felt everyone's eyes on him. "I see" he uttered under his breath. He called out to Fuji to get him a drink seeing as he was already getting up to go, then saw that Sakuno only had a bit of her drink left and told the upperclassman to get her a refill. Upon him leaving he turned back to see the anxious red head staring at him questioningly.

"You didn't write the letter did you?" She finally asked as she looked around to find no one paying them any attention.

Blinking twice Ryoma looked down at the tablecloth and swallowed the saliva building up in his mouth. "No, I didn't" he answered truthfully.

"Oh, I see" Sakuno's also went to the white tablecloth, but even as they were diverted Ryoma didn't miss how watery her eyes got. Panicked at the sudden change in mood, the freshman realized his mistake. If he didn't somehow fix it he would have to deal with a very upset coach and a crying girl.

"Look, I didn't write the invitation. That doesn't mean I don't like you... I do. It's just I didn't know if you liked me that way, especially when you always hang out with Horio and the other guys in our class." Ryoma didn't dare look away, he wanted to gage her reaction to his words.

'So he's the jealous type' thought Eiji who was watching the two like a hawk. He smiled at his own date who made a job and hoped she didn't feel ignored.

"Y-you like me? Wait you thought I l-liked Hiro" Sakuno didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this moment. She was happy to know that their feelings were mutual, but did he really think she liked that loser?

"W-well you always hang out when he's around" Ryoma pouted a bit as he accepted the glass Fuji gave him.

"I-I only hung around him because he's always a-around you. You always seem to disappear in school, I thought you were ignoring me at first, but well I found it to be fun after a while" Sakuno chuckled a bit at the memory of having to ask nearly everyone at school where the freshman was at, only to find him two hours later on the rooftop peacefully asleep.

"You sound like a stalker"

"Do I?" Sakuno gasped placing a hand to her lips shaking her head. "No, no that's not how I meant for that to sound. I meant that... oh no you must really think I'm strange" the red head became even more anxious as she kept staring at the white tablecloth.

Chuckling easily now Ryoma decided to stop teasing the girl. "It's fine, I get it. For the record I wasn't trying to ignore you, I was ignoring your friend and Horio, they're both very loud" Ryoma added as he glanced at the approaching Kawamura. He was carrying a large order of sushi complete with wasabi and soy sauce and other condiments.

The two ate their sushi and conversed for the night and shared a couple of laughs until the time came for Kawamura to close up. Already half of the guys left to drop off their dates, but Ryoma stayed behind for a bit to confront the devious three.

"Eiji-sempai, Oishi- sempai, Fuji-sempai, Momo-chan sempai, may I have a word" Ryoma called after Sakuno got up to use the bathroom. Immediately the four looked up from their dates and excused themselves before going over to the tiny freshman.

"What's up Chibi?" Momo asked upon reaching Ryoma. He knew the freshman would probably yell at them for getting mixed up in business that wasn't their own, but it was still fun to feign ignorance.

"Thanks, for tonight" Ryoma mumbled as be bowed to them. "You did a good job forging my handwriting Fuji-sempai, but you're left hand still needs some work. The place looks different, better and it was.. interesting seeing your significant others." Ryoma finished just as Sakuno walked out.

Before anyone could respond Ryoma waved goodbye taking Sakuno by the hand and walked her home. minus the absolutely terrifying looking coach and almost getting lost, Ryoma had a great time waking Sakuno to her house. They talked about tennis and school and their idiot friends. It had been fine enough that Sakuno asked if they could meet again, this time on their own. Ryoma agreed and in the back of his mind he realized this truly was the perfect serving of romance.

* * *

**A/N:** **Hey everyone. It's spring break!... and I'm stuck at home with Russiacat watching CSI:NY re-runs. Well I was bored and I know I said I wasn't going to post for another three months, but this memory sort of popped up and i wanted to write this ending. Sorry if it's clichéd or just plain horrible, but I'm proud of it. Well it's 12:31 in the night so I'm going to sleep and hopefully then I'll get over this horrible headache. Goodnight... or morning. ~TheRussianGaaranKid out! **


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